Until it be thoroughly finished

It’s hard to do new things in the church.  But sometimes even harder to decide that the time has come to stop ..   So today we drew a celebratory end to our 15 year relationship with the Diocese of Pelotas in Brazil.  We met, told the story, celebrated the eucharist and gave thanks.  I found it particularly impressive to listen to some of the adults who had gone to Pelotas in their mid-teens – for them it was clearly a life-changing experience.  I am a great believer in these companionship relationships – but they take enormous commitment and energy to sustain.  I thought about the group of 14 from Seagoe and the Diocese of Down and Dromore who went with me to visit our companion diocese in Albany.  We were supposed to go one week after 9/11 – we delayed for six months and visited Ground Zero on the way.  You never forget that kind of moment.